1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading and recording apparatus having a reading unit for reading an original document and a recording head for recording onto recording paper.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image reading and recording apparatus having a reading unit for reading an image of an original document and a recording head for recording onto recording paper, a construction in which the recording paper and the original are conveyed along a common conveying path is used in order to realize a miniaturization and cost reduction.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-181820, an image reading and recording apparatus for reading a lower surface of the original at the time of reading an image has been disclosed. In this image reading and recording apparatus, by reading a white reference member arranged on a back surface of a platen prior to the reading operation, a white reference upon reading is specified. The image reading and recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-181820 is constructed in such a manner that upon image recording, the platen is positioned to the lower side of the common conveying path by a switching lever and the image is recorded onto the recording paper on the platen by the recording unit arranged on an upper side of the conveying path.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-187212, an image reading and recording apparatus constructed in such a manner that upon reading, while the original conveyed along a common conveying path is conveyed with passing through a gap between a reading sensor and a white reference member, an upper surface of the original is read has been disclosed. The image reading and recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-187212 is constructed in such a manner that upon recording, a reading unit is moved upward and the white reference member is moved downward by the operation of a switching lever, a recording unit is arranged in a space where the reading unit has been located, and an image is recorded onto recording paper which is conveyed along the common conveying path.
However, in the construction disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H08-181820, since the image reading surface is the lower surface of the original which is conveyed, when the original is set to a sheet stacking portion, it is set so that the image surface faces down. However, since a sheet feeding roller has been arranged on the upper side of the common conveying path, the last page of an original bundle is first separated and fed. Therefore, in the case of executing the reading operation of a plurality of originals, there is caused such a problem that order of pages to be read is reversed.
In the construction disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-187212, since the image reading surface is the upper surface of the original which is conveyed, in the case of executing the reading operation of a plurality of originals, the order of the pages to be read is not reversed. However, since a reading sensor and the white reference member are moved in parallel, in order to realize the precise movement, a position control member such as a rail member or the like is necessary and there is such a drawback that the construction becomes complicated. In the construction disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-187212, upon recording, the reading unit is moved to a position over the recording unit, thereby being retracted. According to such a construction, however, in the case of using the large recording unit, a movement amount at the time of retracting the reading unit is large, so that there is such a problem that it is difficult to miniaturize the apparatus.